Many sites on the Internet frequently collect web browsing data or user behavioral data. One use of collecting such data is to build user profiles. The process of profiling (also known as “tracking”) can include assembly and analysis of observed activity on a network. The network activity is attributable to an originating entity and the network activity is monitored in order to gain information (e.g., patterns of activity) relating to the originating entity. For example, some organizations engage in the profiling of a person's web browsing, collecting the URLs of sites visited by the person. The resulting profile of the person can be linked with information that personally identifies the person who did the browsing.
One use of user profiling is to deliver targeted advertising to consumers. Although aggregate data may not constitute a privacy violation, certain consumers and privacy advocacy groups consider user profiling an invasion of privacy per se. Profiling may create a more serious privacy concern when data-matching associates the profile of an individual with personally-identifiable information of the individual. Furthermore, products being sold through targeted advertisements may not be in the best interest of the consumer.